Sunnyside swimmers squeak by Tarpons, 436-391

TOPPENISH - The Sunnyside Sharks improved to 5-1 on the season two nights ago in the Toppenish pool, but the Tarpons proved they will be a force with which to be reckoned come the Mid-Valley Swim League Championships the final weekend of July.

Sunnyside stole a tightly contested 436-391 decision from the host Tarpons this past Tuesday evening. But with only 45 points separating the two teams' scores, it's become clear that the season ending championship meet in Naches the weekend of July 27-29 will be a three-horse race for top honors.

The other club that will be in the mix for the league crown will be the unbeaten Selah Dolphins, who knocked off Sunnyside by a 475-344 score the third week of June.

In getting by the Tarpons two nights ago, Sunnyside got a five-victory performance from girls 16&U swimmer Brittany Broersma. The Sharks also swept all four of the boys 8&U events, thanks to Logan Rodriguez. Sunnyside, too, received four-win efforts from Marisa Broersma (girls 18&U) and Clay Schilperoort (boys 10&U).

The Sharks also flexed plenty of muscle in the girls 12&U age division, winning both of the relay competitions and collecting all the first through fourth-place team points in the 50-meter butterfly, backstroke and freestyle events. The standouts for Sunnyside in that age grouping included Jolissa Mendoza, a three-time winner, and Brielle Newhouse and Emily Banks with one victory apiece. Also coming through by picking up the majority of the second, third and fourth-place finishes at girls 12&U were Ashlee Maldonado, Jessica Scheenstra, Kylah Bunch and Esmi Cerda.

In what may have been the closest race of the night, the trio of Toppenish's Katrina Johnson and Sunnyside's Kalie Bestebreur and Katelyn Banks gave swim fans a performance to remember. Competing in the girls 14&U, 50-meter breaststroke, Johnson clipped Bestebreur by a hundredth of a second for top honors. Banks, in the photo finish, settled for third, just three-tenths of a second back of Johnson.